Food Cost Control in Education and Procurement for Catering Colleges

• Innovative system designed to enhance the teaching of kitchen management.
• Developed with:
  • Leading chefs and catering experts
  • Specialist programmers
  • The Advanced Telematics Department at Birmingham University
• Already proven in the professional catering industry, including:
  • National hotel groups
  • Independent operators
  • Public-sector organisations
• Adapted specifically for catering education, giving students practical insight into:
  • Kitchen supervision and management
  • The integration of kitchen processes and functions
  • Managing both large and small-scale operations
• Partnership between Olympus and Cengage provides access to recipes used for VRQs in Professional Chef publications.

Menu Planning

• Database of over 2,000 dishes.
• Recipes can include digital photographs.
• Chefs and students can add, amend and personalise recipes.
• Recipes can be searched using criteria such as:
  • Cost
  • Required GP%
  • Food content
  • Allergenic ingredients
  • Other specified requirements

Costing & Forecasting

• Students, lecturers and local suppliers can enter their own prices.
• Accurate, time-saving recipe costing and forecasting.
• If an ingredient price changes, all recipes containing that ingredient are automatically re-costed.
• Provides students with a practical and engaging way to develop numeracy skills.

Health, Safety, First Aid & Hygiene

• Modules cover key areas required by working chefs, including:
  • Legislation
  • Required forms
  • Records and documentation
  • Health and safety procedures
  • Hygiene
  • First aid
• Information is continuously updated by relevant experts.

Nutrition & Special Diets

• Recipes based on Professional Chef include detailed nutritional analysis.
• Nutritional information can also be provided for other recipes.
• Healthcare modules provide information on:
  • The relationship between diet and various ailments
  • Special diets
  • Related dietary requirements

Training Chefs from Level 1 to Degree Level

• Provides students with a practical understanding of modern kitchen management.
• Demonstrates how underpinning knowledge is applied in real-world catering operations.
• Covers areas including:
  • Food and labour costs
  • Menu planning
  • Food costing
  • Legislation
  • Sales mix
  • Profitability
  • Kitchen supervision and management
• Helps students understand how sales mix and cost control can affect profitability.
• Enables lecturers to create a wide range of assignments and projects.
• Provides learning using software similar to that used in leading professional kitchens across the UK.